[Daracle]

I know that WoW will run on our Macs....But what do you think?
Any beta testers in either of the games in here?

Or both?

[olePigeon]

I'd pick Dark Castle.

[businezguy]

WOW all the way.

[brapper]

I like Warcraft...

[WiggMuffin]

Definitely WoW...

[starman]

EQ2

Mike

[Adam Betts]

[Scifience]

I've been a beta tester for EQ2 and watched it evolve over the months to its present state. It is a great game with tremendous promise, but is unfortuantely still experiencing a problem: huge lag.

The graphics are amazing, the gameplay is great IMHO, but it will push even the highest end system to its limits. My Athlon64 with 1GB RAM and nVidia GeForce 6800 GT gets 1 fps (you read that right) in many highly populated areas as of launch day. In less highly populated areas, I can get 40-50fps on max detail at 1280x1024.

Since turning down the graphic settings to the ultimate minimum at 800x600 doesn't help, the other testers and I could only assume that it is a problem on Sony's end or a flaw in the game engine itself. It would seem Sony can't figure out the problem either, as it has been around for months.

Wait for them to fix the bugs, then try it.

[sideus]

I played EQ for a few years. Was fun in the at first, but it made me dislike Sony due to their horrible customer service. I'm staying away from EQ2 because of that.

I very much want to play WoW, but I can't justify $14.99 a month. All these bills.

[Scifience]

Originally posted by sideus:
I played EQ for a few years. Was fun in the at first, but it made me dislike Sony due to their horrible customer service. I'm staying away from EQ2 because of that.

I very much want to play WoW, but I can't justify $14.99 a month. All these bills.

I can agree with the part about the customer service. I tried sending them e-mail but finally gave up after getting back nothing but automated responses that said to reply again for a real response. The last response I got said "We hope you have fixed your problem...thank you for choosing Sony. We have closed your support ticket." or something to that affect. I gave up.

If you call them, though, you get better results. Or manage to find someone on live chat. That way they have to deal with you.

[olePigeon]

I f*cking hate pay to play.

[Adam Betts]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
I f*cking hate pay to play.

I agree with you but it is just not possible for a monster games like EQ2 or WoW with hundreds of programmers/artists/staffs and dedicated bandwidth/servers running to be just free.

If you don't like to pay monthly, they offered a 6 months plan where you only have to pay twice every year (and cheaper at that). Not sure about EQ2's pricing plan though.

[WiggMuffin]

Originally posted by Adam Betts:
If you don't like to pay monthly, they offered a 6 months plan where you only have to pay twice every year (and cheaper at that). Not sure about EQ2's pricing plan though.

Taken from the press release:

The month-to-month subscription plan costs $14.99 per month, the three-month plan costs $13.99 per month, and the six-month plan costs $12.99 per month.

You still pay each month, you just save 24 dollars.

[starman]

Actual in-game EQ2 shots:

[MindFad]

I might buy and try out WoW for a few months sometime next year after it's been out a little while. I love the Blizzard artists. The game has such a great art style; I really dig it.

[Turias]

WoW has definitely sucked me in. I'll be the first one opening my wallet once release hits.

[smacintush]

Hi, my name is Brian�and I'm a WoW-aholic.

[Adam Betts]

Originally posted by starman:
Actual in-game EQ2 shots:

Those sure does look nice but character model/texture in EQ2 is really, really bad, IMO. Maybe it's just me but EQ2 character and world lacked the spirit/personality, making the world very unbelievable when comparing to WoW.

Of course I'm biased since I started playing WoW long before EQ2 but I was really hoping that EQ2 will have some good stuffs so I'll have a backup MMO to play if WoW got a little bored.

To the original poster, to be really honest, you shouldn't probably touch EQ2 until maybe 3-5 months later. They really did rushed it.

[starman]

Originally posted by Adam Betts:
Those sure does look nice but character model/texture in EQ2 is really, really bad, IMO. Maybe it's just me but EQ2 character and world lacked the spirit/personality, making the world very unbelievable when comparing to WoW.

Of course I'm biased since I started playing WoW long before EQ2 but I was really hoping that EQ2 will have some good stuffs so I'll have a backup MMO to play if WoW got a little bored.

To the original poster, to be really honest, you shouldn't probably touch EQ2 until maybe 3-5 months later. They really did rushed it.

Pffffffffffffffffft!

You've GOT to be kidding me.

This character model lacks spirit and personality?



And this?

And this?

What exactly are you looking for?

Mike

[MindFad]

Yikes her boob UV mapping needs a little fixing.

How is EQII anyway, Mike? How long you been playing it? How's the world, gameplay, story, etc.? And most of all, how does the thing run on your system?

[starman]

Originally posted by MindFad:
Yikes her boob UV mapping needs a little fixing.

How is EQII anyway, Mike? How long you been playing it? How's the world, gameplay, story, etc.? And most of all, how does the thing run on your system?

Everything is drop-dead perfect for a game that's been out a week. Are there things to work out? Yes. NPCs speak to you while you walk by them. There's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much content in this game it'll make your head spin. The game runs fine on my system except in small towns that are crowded like Willow Wood, but graphically it runs fine. Gameplay is very well thought out, and doing quests make fighting more desirable. The biggest downside is that higher-level spells require artisans to make them, and there isn't enough resources to go around when 30-40 people are running around a zone looking for the same thing. Since I started on Day One, I was able to get higher than most people earlier.

I'm having a blast with it. I logged into EQ1 the other day to get a clue on an EQ2 quest and it looks so archaic compared to EQ2. I'm going to have a hard time going back to EQ.

Mike

[MaxPower]

I think the eq2 screens are impressive, technologically speaking, but do not give me a feeling of character and spirit. I am fairly certain that this is because its an evolution of older games, with very defined visual styles.


Or maybe I am afraid that Sony will teleport me into space if I riot online and am projecting this bias onto my judgement

[-Q-]

I've only played EQ2 for about 10 minutes, and I've been beta testing WoW for about 3 months now, so my bias is towards WoW, but if you like character customization, I have to say EQ2 really kicks butt in that regard. WoW just doesn't have that level of character customization.

I can't opine on content for EQ2, but the WoW content has been awesome. To be honest, I don't think you can lose with either one, but I'd suggest WoW to support a company that gave us a kick-ass game on the mac.

[TheBadgerHunter]

I can't justify paying $14.99 a month (around $20 canadian) for WoW. I mean its a wonderful game. The thing is I feel it could have been just as good as a solo-game. With the exception of 2 quests I've done them all solo. Maybe I'm wrong but I just feel I don't need any other players.

[Adam Betts]

Originally posted by TheBadgerHunter:
I can't justify paying $14.99 a month (around $20 canadian) for WoW. I mean its a wonderful game. The thing is I feel it could have been just as good as a solo-game. With the exception of 2 quests I've done them all solo. Maybe I'm wrong but I just feel I don't need any other players.

Just wait till you reach level 25. Even better if you're in PvP server

[Peter]

Originally posted by starman:
Pffffffffffffffffft!

And this?

And this?

What exactly are you looking for?

Mike

PLASTIC CITY!

[olePigeon]

Maybe someone will develop a game that can run like P2P without a single dedicated server. The game could come with a hardware dongle with upgradable content/firmware to ensure security. That way you could drop the monthly price on the game to something more reasonable, like $5/month. If not cheaper.

[TheBadgerHunter]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
Maybe someone will develop a game that can run like P2P without a single dedicated server. The game could come with a hardware dongle with upgradable content/firmware to ensure security. That way you could drop the monthly price on the game to something more reasonable, like $5/month. If not cheaper.

http://www.guildwars.com/

How the manage it I have no idea but it has no monthly fee. From what I've heard its almost entirely mission-based and you are confined to certain areas.

[Turias]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
Maybe someone will develop a game that can run like P2P without a single dedicated server. The game could come with a hardware dongle with upgradable content/firmware to ensure security. That way you could drop the monthly price on the game to something more reasonable, like $5/month. If not cheaper.

Even with a mandatory hardware attachment, this thing would have hackers all over it within minutes. I can't think of a way to have a hack-free MMORPG that is not hosted on a secure, dedicated server.

[olePigeon]

Originally posted by TheBadgerHunter:
http://www.guildwars.com/

How the manage it I have no idea but it has no monthly fee. From what I've heard its almost entirely mission-based and you are confined to certain areas.

Well, there you go. That's something I'd buy... if I were into fantasy MMORPGs.

I hope these guys make it big cuz they have it right. Screw Pay to Play.


Something else that would be cool is that they could have an EULA that allows them to use unused CPU cycles to help in compiling and rendering. They could build new areas to the online world overnight. I think that'd be nifty and a worthwhile tradeoff for NOT paying $400 for a stupid computer game.

[TheBadgerHunter]

Originally posted by Turias:
Even with a mandatory hardware attachment, this thing would have hackers all over it within minutes. I can't think of a way to have a hack-free MMORPG that is not hosted on a secure, dedicated server.

To be fair I am working on a secure system for a PvP type game.

[Turias]

Originally posted by TheBadgerHunter:
To be fair I am working on a secure system for a PvP type game.

You mean P2P?

[kupan787]

Originally posted by TheBadgerHunter:
http://www.guildwars.com/

How the manage it I have no idea but it has no monthly fee. From what I've heard its almost entirely mission-based and you are confined to certain areas.

It is because it isn't really a MMO. You are online with a ton of people in the town only. Once you go outside of town, it is "instanced". Meaning you are in a little area, by your self (or with a small group of people). Basically it is a nicer looking Diablo 2 with battle net. The chat room has added graphics. But once you get "in game" you are by yourself, or with a small group. This is a nice game if you liked the style of Diablo 2, but it doesn't compare at all to a real MMO.

Originally posted by Adam Betts:
Just wait till you reach level 25. Even better if you're in PvP server

Blah, I hate WoW's idea of PvP. When I hear or think of PvP, it is really player vs player. I should be able to attack any person I see, at any time I want to. Yes there should be penalties for that, but I should have that ability. If I don't, how can you call it PvP. What WoW has is AvH, alliance vs horde. You can only attack people that are on the opposing team. And the likely hood of it happening are slim to none. Either you have to goto there side, and you will be rushed by 50 opposing players, or they have to come to your side, and be rushed by 50 opposing players. There is really no PvP at all in WoW, their system doesn't allow it.

The game with the best PvP system I have played to date was Lineage (not Lineage 2, but the original). I started playing that when it first came to the Mac, and it was great! It is still around, but never got that big here in the states (it is the largest MMO of all time, but 99% of the customer base is in Korea).

[TheBadgerHunter]

Originally posted by kupan787:

Blah, I hate WoW's idea of PvP. When I hear or think of PvP, it is really player vs player. I should be able to attack any person I see, at any time I want to. Yes there should be penalties for that, but I should have that ability. If I don't, how can you call it PvP. What WoW has is AvH, alliance vs horde. You can only attack people that are on the opposing team. And the likely hood of it happening are slim to none. Either you have to goto there side, and you will be rushed by 50 opposing players, or they have to come to your side, and be rushed by 50 opposing players. There is really no PvP at all in WoW, their system doesn't allow it.

The game with the best PvP system I have played to date was Lineage (not Lineage 2, but the original). I started playing that when it first came to the Mac, and it was great! It is still around, but never got that big here in the states (it is the largest MMO of all time, but 99% of the customer base is in Korea).

Never played on a PvP server but I believe its a bit more 1 on 1 than that. I know I've heard people going on about 1 on 1 all the time so...


You remember me? Probably not.. I'll give you a hint.. matt at maccustimise.. xthemes.. ring any bells?

[TheBadgerHunter]

Originally posted by Turias:
You mean P2P?

PvP. Much much much much smaller scale. I was really just bragging.

[OwlBoy]

World of Warcraft rocks. So much.

here are a few of my screenshots from beta:

http://www.owlboy.com/wow_gallery/

Moof!

-Owl

[kupan787]

Originally posted by TheBadgerHunter:
Never played on a PvP server but I believe its a bit more 1 on 1 than that. I know I've heard people going on about 1 on 1 all the time so...

Well, you can duel anyone, as long as they accept it. So there is your one on one. However, a true PvP server would allow me to attack any player at any time. If you don't like it, you play a non PvP server. Warcraft is very much setup with Alliance vs Horde as the only real PvP. I wonder if they will have big server wide events to get massive battles going, cause if not I really doubt there will be any real level of PvP.

You remember me? Probably not.. I'll give you a hint.. matt at maccustimise.. xthemes.. ring any bells?

InterfaceGuy (was that you...)

Can I get another hint I haven't done a whole lot of theme work (back in the OS 8.5/9 days I worked on a theme until Apple shut me down). I was also part of that project, and on the macthemes mailing list back then to. Or am I thinking too long ago...

[OwlBoy]

Originally posted by kupan787:
Well, you can duel anyone, as long as they accept it. So there is your one on one. However, a true PvP server would allow me to attack any player at any time. If you don't like it, you play a non PvP server. Warcraft is very much setup with Alliance vs Horde as the only real PvP. I wonder if they will have big server wide events to get massive battles going, cause if not I really doubt there will be any real level of PvP.

There are zones that people quest in from both sides, actually, a lot of them at higher levels.

-Owl

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally posted by kupan787:
Blah, I hate WoW's idea of PvP. When I hear or think of PvP, it is really player vs player. I should be able to attack any person I see, at any time I want to. Yes there should be penalties for that, but I should have that ability. If I don't, how can you call it PvP. What WoW has is AvH, alliance vs horde. You can only attack people that are on the opposing team.

And that is bad, how? True PvP ruins the game for the 99% of players who are not griefers.

[Turias]

Originally posted by kupan787:
Blah, I hate WoW's idea of PvP. When I hear or think of PvP, it is really player vs player. I should be able to attack any person I see, at any time I want to. Yes there should be penalties for that, but I should have that ability. If I don't, how can you call it PvP. What WoW has is AvH, alliance vs horde. You can only attack people that are on the opposing team. And the likely hood of it happening are slim to none. Either you have to goto there side, and you will be rushed by 50 opposing players, or they have to come to your side, and be rushed by 50 opposing players. There is really no PvP at all in WoW, their system doesn't allow it.

90% of the quests you do past lvl 30 are in areas heavily populated by both factions. It's not at all like how you describe.

Originally posted by - - e r i k - -:
And that is bad, how? True PvP ruins the game for the 99% of players who are not griefers.

But WoW has PvP and non-PvP servers, so that's a non-issue.

[Cipher13]

Play EQ2.

...more bandwidth for me on the WoW servers that way.

[Adam Betts]

If anyone is interested or base their purchase on reviews, here's reviews from GameSpot:

World of Warcraft - 9.5
User Rating - 9.1
Link

Everquest II - 7.8
User Rating - 6.9
Link

[Daracle]

I am playing WoW first, a friend gave me the 10 day friend pass and it has me hooked.

Although, Can any of you guys tell me what I have to hit to minimize it while I answer a IM or an email?

[Adam Betts]

Originally posted by Daracle:
Although, Can any of you guys tell me what I have to hit to minimize it while I answer a IM or an email?

Command + M will put game in windowed mode

I think it's alt-tab for Windows OS but I'm not entirely sure.

[Webscreamer]

Originally posted by Daracle:
I am playing WoW first, a friend gave me the 10 day friend pass and it has me hooked.

Although, Can any of you guys tell me what I have to hit to minimize it while I answer a IM or an email?

How do you do the 10 day pass? I got a friend who bought it and I want to try it...

[Daracle]

Originally posted by Webscreamer:
How do you do the 10 day pass? I got a friend who bought it and I want to try it...

He bought the special edition and it came with it.
I dont know if it comes with the regular version or not.

AND Thanks Adam...That will make the game WAY more enjoyable.

When I asked in game, all I got was "Stupid Macs and thier non windows button on the keyboard"

[starman]

Originally posted by Adam Betts:
If anyone is interested or base their purchase on reviews, here's reviews from GameSpot:

World of Warcraft - 9.5
User Rating - 9.1
Link

Everquest II - 7.8
User Rating - 6.9
Link

Ok, these numbers are really f*cking retarded.

EQ2
Gameplay - 8
Graphics - 8
Sound - 9

WTF? Have you seen some of the drop-dead GORGEOUS in-game screenshots? Graphics 8?? Graphics 10.

Sound - 9. I agree with that, but there's a LOT of directional sound.

Gamplay - 8. Based on what? Gameplay 9. Sorry, whoever wrote this is probably a WoW fanboy.

The user reviews are f*cked up too:

"Are there any other things to do in this game besides quest?"

Uh, yes

"Pretty but Clumsy!"

Define "clumsy"

"EQ2, they left the role playing of of RPG... powerleveling fest, no story, and the same quest over and over"

There are SEVEN HUNDRED QUESTS and it's IMPOSSIBLE to powerlevel in EQ2.

Mike

[Adam Betts]

I think the review is targeted to people who haven't played either or are new to MMOG world, not to hardcore players like you.

Also I wouldn't call one of the reviews f*cking retarded when you haven't given the second games a same amount of playtime as you do with EQ2. I'm not saying you're wrong but at least try to be a little more open-minded

[TheBadgerHunter]

Originally posted by starman:
Ok, these numbers are really f*cking retarded.

EQ2
Gameplay - 8
Graphics - 8
Sound - 9

WTF? Have you seen some of the drop-dead GORGEOUS in-game screenshots? Graphics 8?? Graphics 10.

Sound - 9. I agree with that, but there's a LOT of directional sound.

Gamplay - 8. Based on what? Gameplay 9. Sorry, whoever wrote this is probably a WoW fanboy.

The user reviews are f*cked up too:

"Are there any other things to do in this game besides quest?"

Uh, yes

"Pretty but Clumsy!"

Define "clumsy"

"EQ2, they left the role playing of of RPG... powerleveling fest, no story, and the same quest over and over"

There are SEVEN HUNDRED QUESTS and it's IMPOSSIBLE to powerlevel in EQ2.

Mike

Relax man, it got what it deserved. Yes, the graphics are nice but the characters and their stances are not life-like. People's hands look like prosthetics. There is no way the graphics deserved a 10; even 9 would be pushing it.

I, personally, hate these games with passion. Oh hey are magnificent, fun, creative, and the best gaming experiences I've had. But they are just a money grab. Overly expensive and addictive. Sad part is they could have been perfectly good RPGs.